House Rules
Critical Hits A critical hit occurs when an attacker rolls a natural 20 on his attack roll. Normally all damage dice are rolled twice in the event of a critical hit, but this often results in meager damage lower even than the max damage of an attack that wasn't a critical hit. For this reason, we roll the normal damage dice and then add an amount equal to the maximum roll of the damage dice. Modifiers are not doubled. So an attack that would normally do 1d6 + 3 damage on a hit will instead do 1d6 + 6(max damage roll) + 3 on a critical hit. This raises the average crit damage of this weapon from 10 to 12.5. Critical Misses Per the normal rules, rolling a natural 1 means your attack misses no matter what. In addition to this I will impose a minor annoyance on such rolls as well. Some examples include tossing your weapon by accident, hitting the wrong target, or falling prone. Sometimes the effect may just be for flavor to make things more interesting, and not actually do anything mechanically. This rule extends to baddies as well. Critical Rolls on Skill Checks and Saving Throws I think of rolling a 1 or 20 as representing a check or save going as poorly or well as it possibly can, respectively. On a saving throw, rolling a 1 may result in taking extra damage or suffering a stronger version of the imposed effect. Inversely, a 20 may further reduce damage or avoid an unwanted effect altogether. Similar effects will apply to skill checks. Rolling a 1 while trying to repair something may further damage it. Rolling a 20 while trying to recall some information may cause you to piece something together that you hadn't previously realized. These effects aren't set in stone and will just depend on the situation. Negligible Resources I'm not worried about the party buying food and making sure you have enough to eat unless it's specifically going to be an issue. For example, if you're setting out on an ocean voyage then you'll need to bring enough food and water. Normally, though, you've got multiple party members who know how to gather, hunt, or fish. I'm not concerned with encumbrance unless it's obvious that you're carrying a lot of heavy stuff. I'm also not worried about material spell components 'that do not have a listed price. '''Sleeping outside is also an option to avoid paying for a room. If, however, you do pay for a hearty meal or a comfy stay in a nice inn, it will often provide mechanical benefits. Inspiration Inspiration will be rewarded to players who commit to role-playing, especially when it isn't mechanically optimal. Don't be afraid to ask for it if you feel like you've earned it- I often forget it exists! Inspiration can be used to reroll any d20 roll you make. This often results in a lower roll and a total waste of the valuable resource you earned. So in this campaign you can burn up your inspiration to ''either reroll any d20 roll ''or ''to add 5 to any d20 roll. Spell Stones I don't like scrolls- simple as that. So I use Spell Stones instead, which are naturally magic, small, smooth stones that can be charged with low level spells. There are fifty different types, which vary in availability. Certain types are illegal on the surface, but can be purchased in the Under. Spell Stones are typically activated by holding them in one's palm and simply deciding to use them. With each charge used the stone may lose its magic and become an ordinary rock. The sturdier and higher level a stone, the higher the price and rarer it is.